ENTRY 6.
How the gestures of the 18th century Roman frescoes that inspired
Cy Twombly’s paintings inspired our "Oggetto d'Arte" Vara collection.
Cy Twombly was a North American artist who spent much of his career in Italy. He was fascinated by ancient Rome and the 18th century frescoes and debris.
In late 1952, Cy Twombly, along with fellow artist Robert Rauschenberg, traveled to Italy and North Africa on a fellowship.
Many art historians note that he returned from this trip, emerging as a prominent figure with new methodologies and techniques that challenged all views ideas of what painting really was. Work that was personal, allowing inner dialogue to erupt from his intimate, abstract notations.
In Rome, Twombly had refined his distinctive artistic language, permeated by ancient history and mythology. Twombly’s use of white paint, plaster, and cementite in his work has long been linked to his attraction of the white marble of Roman ancient ruins.
CY
TWOMBLY
Born: April 25, 1928, Lexington, VAD
Died: July 5, 2011 (age 83 years), Rome, Italy
Period: Abstract expressionism
Influenced by: Italian Roman frescos
He often said that the act of painting could come out of one ecstatic impulse. “A freedom of indulgent sensual release that only living abroad allowed.”
In his last interview, Twombly ended the debate on whether he defined himself as an American or European artist, saying he was a "Mediterranean painter.”
